I hope you had a good Christmass. This article on Kosovo seems pretty good. Further we have some interesting news from the region. Plus, we have a new war in Africa.

With Belgrade and Pristina unable to bridge their differences over Kosovo's future, a decision on status is now up to the international community. That poses its own set of challenges.

By Robert C. Austin for Southeast European Times – 26/12/06

Regional stability in Southeast Europe depends ultimately on the resolution of Kosovo's status, a process which the UN Security Council formally launched in late 2005. Several rounds of talks under UN auspices were then held between Kosovo Albanian and Serbian representatives, in the hope that a solution acceptable to both sides could be reached. That hope has not borne fruit. The Kosovo Albanians want nothing less than statehood. The Serbian side, meanwhile, has stuck to its refrain of "more than autonomy but less than independence", though it remains unclear what this would amount to in practice. In October, Serbian voters approved a constitution which describes Kosovo as an integral part of the country. more

UN To End Kosovo TalksPlayfuls.com -8 hours agoby News Staff. There will be no further talks once a UN envoy announces his proposal for Serbia's mainly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo province, a media report said Tuesday.What's next for Kosovo?Southeast European Times

Serb jailed 20 years for Kosovo war crimesEarthtimes.org -Dec 25, 2006BELGRADE, Serbia, Dec. 25 Serbia's high court upheld a 20-year jail sentence for a former Serbian police convicted of 1999 war crimes in Serbia's Kosovo province.

OVERVIEW OF EU-CROATIA MEMBERSHIP TALKS IN 2006Journal of Turkish Weekly -16 hours agoThe most important event in the year 2006 regarding the relations between Croatia and the European Union was Brussels' decision to separate Croatia's membership talks from the process of Turkey's negotiations.

Montenegro to introduce two official languagesMakfax -16 hours agoMontenegro's authorities are set to introduce changes to the Constitution, including official use of both Montenegrin and Serbian languages and refraining from treating the Church in the supreme state law.

Serbia drug seizures sparks killingsEarthtimes.org -6 hours agoNIS, Serbia, Dec. 26 Police said gang fighting is under way to control the drug market in the southern Serbian city of Nis, following seizures of 90 pounds of heroin this year.

50 euros for passing through SerbiaB92 -9 hours agoSOFIA -- Bulgaria's citizens will have to pay a fee of 5- euros when passing through Serbia, starting in January 1. Orlin Nikolov of the border police has told Bulgarian BNR radio that the Kalotina Border ...

Slovenia takes cautious approach in giant step to euroMonsters and Critics.com -Dec 23, 2006By Andrew McCathie Dec 24, 2006, 3:34 GMT. Berlin - The small ex-Yugoslavian republic of Slovenia is leaving nothing to chance as it prepares to become the first of the new European Union member states to join the euro on January 1.